Claudia (Winter Park, Co) on 03/23/2014:
I was diagnosed with cystocele about 2 years ago & immediately started searching for alternative healing methods. The first thing I found was a woman who did a special massage technique to help pull up/tone organs & also who recommended lots of Kegels. I've also explored herbs, homeopathy, essential oils, & energy healing--all of these things take time & can be costly, & I tend to be more of an herb person, so I do raspberry tea, & take vitex (chasteberry) & black cohosh for their "women benefits" (I am post-menopausal- hence the onset of my prolapse). Not seeing much of an improvement after several months of doing all of the above, I started searching the internet again & found an amazing book that is written by a women about pelvic organ prolapse. She goes into exhaustive detail about a women's anatomy (compared to a man's), how & why things happen & a non-surgical alternative--her own story is horrendous (she also explains all of the surgeries)--but she found, through much trial & error, a simple solution, basically a "posture" that you have to rethink, retrain yourself to do & a very simple exercise--not Kegels! Apparently Kegels are pretty useless because they only develop the muscles/tissues that help us eliminate, not hold things in! A more effective exercise is similar to a "cat-cow" yoga move while standing. Also, speaking of yoga, which was invented by a man for men, any posture which requires you to bend past 90 degrees (an oblique angle) makes you "push out", which is counter-productive. Do only yoga moves where you are bending 90 degrees or less ("pulling in"); inversions are good, like headstands & shoulder stands-- downward dog is especially do-able for most women--even sitting. I think also, properly nourishing yourself only makes sense, since you hopefully create an environment conducive to tissue improvement & healing (like strengthening capillaries & facia). I began to see improvement once I got serious & into a regular routine of the exercise & always trying to remember to do "the posture", plus doing a small yoga routine of headstand, child's pose & downward dog. I definitely think you have to give your body some type of gravity break! In time I am expecting to not only stop the progression, but to get some reversal as well.
Also, I found the comments about witch hazel very interesting & plan to try that as well! I say, try everything that doesn't sound too wacky! Good luck & lovely healing energy to all of you, my "sistahs".
